The Bair Hugger Warming System has been linked to adverse health complications, including staph infections, when used during hip replacement surgery.

A Bair Hugger is a medical device used to warm patients before, during and after surgery. When patients undergo surgery, their body temperatures drop because of anesthesia.

The Bair Hugger warming device regulates the patient’s body temperature by blowing warm air through a hose into the Bair Hugger blanket, keeping the patient warm.

The blanket was developed two decades ago by Dr. Scott Augustine, a Minnesota anesthesiologist. Millions of surgery patients have been kept warm by the Bair Hugger.

However, increasing reports of serious infections have prompted a number of Bair Hugger lawsuits against the device’s manufacturer, 3M.

One such Bair Hugger infection lawsuit has been filed by an Alabama couple, who alleges the surgical warming blanket caused the husband’s open surgical wound to be exposed to contaminants during hip surgery.

Plaintiffs Charles and Susan B. filed the Bair Hugger lawsuit claiming Charles developed a life-threatening staph infection after a hip replacement surgery in April 2015 in which a Bair Paws forced air warming gown was used, which is manufactured and distributed by 3M.

Bair Hugger Complications

According to the Bair Hugger lawsuit, Charles was forced to undergo two separate additional surgeries in May as a staph infection treatment.  However, despite these subsequent surgeries and staph infection treatment, Charles was admitted to the emergency room and transferred to the ICU in June.

There, he was diagnose with sepsis, a life-threatening complication from a staph infection. He also suffered aminoglycoside toxicity as a result of his staph infection treatment.

During his hospitalization and staph infection treatment, Charles was placed on ventilator support in guarded condition in the ICU.

Throughout his time in the ICU, Charles suffered serious complications including acute renal and respiratory failure, hypernatremia, anemia, episodes of tachycardia, pneumonia and elevated troponins.

While on the road to recovery, he was wheelchair bound for a period of time and currently uses a walker to aid him on occasion.

The couple’s Bair Hugger lawsuit alleges these complications were directly caused by the staph infection that resulted from the use of the Bair Hugger device being used during Charles’ hip surgery in April.

Bair Hugger Lawsuits

In early December, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation heard oral arguments for and against the formation of a centralized MDL regarding alleged injuries and infections caused by the Bair Hugger warming system.

The Bair Hugger lawsuits are all filed by individuals who claim that use of this surgical warming blanket caused them to suffer serious infections following hip replacement or knee replacement surgery.

Plaintiffs claim that the companies 3M and the previous owner of Bair Hugger rights, Arizant Healthcare, withheld information about the risk of infection associated with these devices from the FDA and from patients.

An MDL would help to reduce duplicative discovery, avoid conflicting rulings by different judges, and serve the convenience of all parties involved in the litigation.

If you or a loved one had surgery that used a Bair Hugger blanket and developed a staph infection or other injury, you could be eligible for compensation.

The Bair Hugger Infection Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-02254-JHE in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama.